Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has called for the Welsh Government to take bold action to reduce ambulance waits.
Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Rowlands, Shadow Health Minister, said:
Ambulance response times aren't where they should be, and it's also fair to acknowledge that the most recent numbers show that 50.4% of red calls received that response, within eight minutes in October, which is an improvement on the numbers from September. But, of course, it is still well below the 65% response time target for red calls to arrive within eight minutes, and, indeed, this target has not been met since the summer of 2020.
But we all too often hear those horror stories of seemingly endless waits for ambulances and then endless waits when those ambulances actually get to hospital.
We heard of a reporter who waited eight hours with her father, who had a stroke, parked at Grange University Hospital in Cwmbrân, with upwards of 15 ambulances, or the injured rugby player in Carmarthenshire recently who waited for an ambulance for six hours, when the hospital was only a few miles away.
I do think it's really important that we have clear targets in place to ensure there's proper accountability and transparency, because, indeed, any potential changes to targets can be concerning in themselves, because meeting targets shouldn't be seen as a pinnacle, but a base from which to build. And any change in target system could be seen as Welsh Government trying to get out of achieving the high standards that the people we represent expect to be met.
I would suggest most of the challenges remain outside of the ambulance service's control, and especially handovers at emergency departments, ambulances just sitting on the tarmac and unable to move patients on to the next phase of care.
There needs to be that clear, long-term plan, including investment in technology, workforce planning, collaboration across health boards and service providers, and an enhanced public communication, as well as monitoring of performances, so that we all can see the ambulance service that we want to see.
Jeremy Miles, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said that far too many ambulance resources were, both in terms of time and vehicle resources and human resources, staff resources, are tied up in delayed handovers, and they absolutely recognise that that needs to be a focus.
Mr Rowlands added:
We need bold action from the Labour Welsh Government to reduce ambulance waits instead of fiddling with targets.
Barely half of the most serious ambulance calls receive a response within the target time. We need clear and transparent targets to improve accountability.
The Welsh Conservatives want to see a long-term plan, involving social care, to address capacity issues within the Welsh NHS to improve the flow of patients into and out of hospitals that applies pragmatic, cross-sector thinking and makes use of cross-border availability.
Sam Rowlands AS yn galw am gynllun hirdymor i wella amseroedd ymateb ambiwlansys
Mae Sam Rowlands, yr Aelod o’r Senedd dros y Gogledd, wedi galw ar Lywodraeth Cymru i gymryd camau beiddgar i leihau arosiadau ambiwlansys.
Wrth siarad yn y Senedd, dywedodd Mr Rowlands, Gweinidog Iechyd yr Wrthblaid:
Nid yw amseroedd ymateb ambiwlansys yn y sefyllfa y dylen nhw fod ynddi, ac mae hefyd yn deg cydnabod bod y niferoedd diweddaraf yn dangos bod 50.4 y cant o alwadau coch wedi derbyn yr ymateb hwnnw, a grybwylloch chi, o fewn wyth munud ym mis Hydref, sy'n well na'r niferoedd o fis Medi. Ond, wrth gwrs, mae'n dal ymhell islaw'r targed amser ymateb o 65 y cant i alwadau coch gyrraedd o fewn wyth munud, ac yn wir, nid yw'r targed hwn wedi'i gyrraedd ers haf 2020.
Rydym yn clywed y straeon arswyd hynny o aros yn ddiddiwedd am ambiwlansys ac yna arosiadau diddiwedd pan fydd yr ambiwlansys hynny'n cyrraedd yr ysbyty mewn gwirionedd.”
Clywsom am ohebydd a arhosodd wyth awr gyda'i thad, a oedd wedi cael strôc, wedi parcio yn Ysbyty Athrofaol y Faenor yng Nghwmbrân, gyda dros 15 ambiwlans, neu'r chwaraewr rygbi a anafwyd yn sir Gaerfyrddin yn ddiweddar a arhosodd am ambiwlans am chwe awr, pan oedd yr ysbyty ond ychydig filltiroedd i ffwrdd.
Rwy'n credu ei fod yn bwysig iawn—a gobeithio y byddwch yn gallu ymateb i'r pwynt hwn—bod gennym dargedau clir ar waith i sicrhau bod atebolrwydd a thryloywder priodol, oherwydd, yn wir, gall unrhyw newidiadau posibl i dargedau fod yn bryderus ynddynt eu hunain, oherwydd, wrth gwrs, ni ddylid ystyried cyrraedd targedau fel pinacl, ond sylfaen i adeiladu arni, a gellid gweld unrhyw newid yn y system darged fel Llywodraeth Cymru yn ceisio osgoi cyflawni'r safonau uchel y mae'r bobl rydyn ni'n eu cynrychioli yn disgwyl i ni eu bodloni.
Byddwn yn awgrymu bod y rhan fwyaf o'r heriau'n parhau y tu allan i reolaeth y gwasanaeth ambiwlans, ac yn enwedig trosglwyddo mewn adrannau brys, ambiwlansys yn aros ar y tarmac ac yn methu symud cleifion ymlaen i'r cam nesaf o ofal.
Mae angen y cynllun clir, hirdymor hwnnw, gan gynnwys buddsoddi mewn technoleg, cynllunio'r gweithlu, cydweithio ar draws byrddau iechyd a darparwyr gwasanaethau, a chyfathrebu cyhoeddus gwell, yn ogystal â monitro perfformiadau, fel y gall pob un ohonom weld y gwasanaeth ambiwlans yr ydym eisiau ei weld.
Dywedodd Jeremy Miles, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol fod llawer gormod o adnoddau ambiwlans fel petai, o ran adnoddau amser a cherbydau ac adnoddau dynol, adnoddau staff, wedi'u clymu oherwydd oedi wrth drosglwyddo, a’u bod yn cydnabod yn llwyr fod angen i hynny fod yn ganolbwynt.
Ychwanegodd Mr Rowlands:
Mae angen gweithredu'n feiddgar gan Lywodraeth Lafur Cymru i leihau arosiadau ambiwlans yn lle ffidlo gyda thargedau.
Prin hanner y galwadau ambiwlans mwyaf difrifol sy'n derbyn ymateb o fewn yr amser targed. Mae angen targedau clir a thryloyw arnom i wella atebolrwydd.
Mae'r Ceidwadwyr Cymreig eisiau gweld cynllun hirdymor, sy'n cynnwys gofal cymdeithasol, i fynd i'r afael â materion capasiti o fewn GIG Cymru i wella llif cleifion i mewn ac allan o ysbytai sy'n cymhwyso meddwl bragmatig, traws-sector ac sy'n defnyddio argaeledd trawsffiniol.
